era: late 1880s
material: silk, ottoman, lace
found: ebay, 2003
Many wedding dresses were day dresses as they were held during the day. This gown makes great use of texture to play with light. The warmth of the colour also helps make the gown glow.
era: late 1880s
material: silk satin and silk faille, embroidered.
found: ebay.com 2004
This is such a statement in restraint! my favourite gowns from this era all have what is termed a plain tablier, or a skirt that is not festooned in other fabric elements. It may be a width of silk, it might be embroidered, it may be beaded.
I have a few that I am desperate to use for my own inspiration, including one I have only in memory.
It was a very small book with a card cover, square shaped rather than portrait. And one of the images was of a woman in a skirt with a tablier covered in small beads. However I simply can’t remmber many more details. I think I may have come across a scan of the same portrait. But I will try and do a separate post dedicated to the “plain” tablier!
era: 1870s
material: silk taffeta
found: Contentment Farm Antiques, 2004
Gown with two bodices, day bodice and dinner bodice. Two toned, close tablier, ruching, it all fits with the very end of the 1870s.
So glad that there is a watermark on these images!
http://contentment.typepad.com/contentment_farm/victorian/
They have some very nice archives. I recognise a few of the other garments in here! I’ll probably get to them as I go through year by year in my own archives 🙂
era: 1880s
material: wool
found: ebay 2004
Oh my. How beaituful The skirt has a plain front with very sharp pressed pleats in the back that each show off the woven design beautiful.
The hanging tabs can be seen in garments from at least the 1860s but this half skirt made from them replaces a traditional apron type of drapery.
era: 1870s
material: silk
found: ebay 2004
Okay, this is just very cool and beautiful. The skirt is lined in a matching glazed cotton and the back has a closing that will avoid any gaping appearing- possibly needed due to the very short center back peplum.
The sleeve shape is very full at the upper part which suggests this is possibly very late 1860s or very early 1870s.
era: 1840s
material: cotton mull or muslin
found: ebay 2005
This kind of sheer dress is on my “most looked for” list when I hunt out, and this is just so perfect an example but with such clever sleeve details so as to make this one likely to be moved into the “must make” folder 🙂 I have a gown I could make over into this 🙂 time to get that dress back into my site pages too.
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timeasmymeasure
